The best restaurants for afternoon tea in London

As quintessentially English as the Changing of the Guard at Buckingham Palace, taking afternoon tea is a treat loved by tourists and Londoners alike. We've rounded up the best classic and contemporary afternoon teas to enjoy, from super traditional at Browns to crazy cocktail teas at Lyaness.

Well if it was good enough for Queen Victoria... yes Her Majesty used to enjoy taking tea in the English Tea Room at this classic London hotel. This is a place to enjoy cucumber sandwiches and you can even try Cornish tea grown in the gardens at Tregothnan.

Take tea in the art deco foyer of Claridge's and you could easily be a player in any Agatha Christie novel - it's so glamorous. The teas themselves are picked out by the Rare Tea Company's Henrietta Lovell.

How much: Starts at £70 and there's a children's afternoon tea for £40.

The Diamond Jubilee Tea Salon at this Piccadilly institution was opened by the Queen herself, so you can't get much more of a recommendation than that. Fortnums has been trading in tea since the early 18th century so they know their stuff - their royal blend was created in 1902 for Edward VII.

The Palm Court at The Ritz is probably the best-known place to take afternoon tea in the world. It's now so popular you can have it all day long. They're also the only place to have a certified Tea Sommelier whose job it is to source their 18 different types of tea. Don't forget there's a dress code too - jacket and tie for blokes.

Aside from the odds-on chance of a celeb spotting, The Wolseley lives for its viennoiserie so you can expect the pastries that come with your full afternoon tea to be particularly good. FYI - you can now buy that tea tiered stand (complete with cloche to keep your scones warm) to use at home.

Created in honour of the late owner Sir David Tang, this Cantonese dim sum afternoon tea serves up single-origin teas with Hong Kong custard tarts and Gai Lan Cheung Fun as well as a basket of dim sum.

Served out on the garden terrace, this is Ansel's first bakery to offer afternoon tea and he's chosen to follow the journey of a seed growing and blossoming into a flower as inspiration. Dishes include a squid ink choux and brown butter financier - so definitely not your trad tea.

Step back in time for tea at Lyaness - well, as far back at the eighties anyway. There are devilled eggs and trifle on the menu, along sarnies like Coronation sweet potato and squash, crispy shallots and baby gem on walnut bread. Best of all it comes with their amazing paired cocktails.

How much: It's £58 for the cocktail tea (£38 for the booze-free option).

When: Thursday to Sunday, between 12pm and 5pm. Last sitting at 3:30pm

Why have tea at all, when you can swap that out for something boozy pouring out of your teapot instead? Here you have five cocktails to choose from, and they all come with a selection of "sweet and savoury Victorian delectables".

The afternoon tea offering at this luxury Holborn hotel has been voted Best Contemporary tea two years in a row now. Pastries are inspired by Banksy, Yayoi Kusama and Rodin and we particularly love the look of the kids tea which features a painter's palette and paint tubes filled with jam and lemon curd.